Glowtown

In the summer of 1999 at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in
Ridgefield, Connecticut, I had the experience of creating Glowtown with a group of about 30 children. We worked together for an
entire day building a Glowtown with cotton dental rolls, glue, cardboard,
popsicle sticks, and luminous paint. The idea was to build a town that
could transformed when the lights were turned off. This workshop was
directly inspired by an installation I did at the Aldrich Museum
entitled Tips.

Since then, I have conducted this workshop all over the country through
the Education Departments of Museums including the Kemper Museum of
Contemporary Art, Katonah Museum of Art and the Birmingham Museum of
Art. Participants of all ages have participated in my workshop, from
young children to high school students to adults in corporate team
building retreats. Glowtown is for all ages and meant to be an exercise
to bring people together to create a fantastical world with simple
materials, creating a wonderful experience along the way.

Kristen Greenwood, Assistant Curator of Education at the Birmingham
Museum of Art in Birmingham, Alabama wrote about Glowtown saying,

"Glowtown with Sharon Louden is absolutely the most exciting workshop
for adults and families that I have ever participated in! Sharon's
energy is contagious and it is fascinating to watch strangers emerge as
teams as they work together to create their own glowing towns. Glowtown
is a fun learning experience on so many levels- it promotes teamwork, it
teaches people how to use the resources they have on hand, and the glow
in the dark paint adds another dimension to this ultra-cool and
ultra-fun workshop. Sharon makes each and every participant feel as
though they have the power to create whatever they want and she is there
cheering them on. I would recommend this workshop to anyone- it is
something you will regret not participating in if you have the
opportunity!"

GLOWTOWN AT THE 5.4.7 ARTS CENTER

This slide show is images describing 5 consecutive days of "Glow Town"
workshops for elementary, middle and high school children in Greensburg,
Kansas, from May 17-21, 2010, organized through the 5.4.7 Arts Center.